Business confidence in Scotland has hit its highest level for almost seven years, according to a national chartered accountancy body.
The ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) for Scotland found optimism had improved markedly at 29.4 on the quarterly index, its highest point since 2014.
In total, 52 Chartered Accountants based in Scotland were surveyed between January and April, with an index calculated from the responses, within which a score of +100 would indicate that all were much more confident about future prospects, while -100 would indicate all were much less confident.
The sharp rise in confidence was likely underpinned by the vaccine rollout and expectations of a strong rebound in economic growth as lockdown restrictions ease, according to the report.
However, the boost in confidence comes following a tough 12 months for Scottish businesses, which had experienced a fall in domestic sales and little export growth.
The research found that domestic sales were expected to grow at their fastest rate since the survey began in 2004, while the rate of export growth was…
